Will you please turn to the book of
Hebrews, chapter 13.
Hebrews, chapter 13, verse 22.
But I beseech you, brethren, bear the word
of exhortation, for it is but in few
words that I have written to you.
In the Amplified it says, listen patiently and
bear for this message of exhortation and admonition
and encouragement, for I have written to you
briefly.
The same book, chapter 2.
Hebrews, chapter 2.
We read from verse 1 through verse 4.
Hebrews, chapter 2, verse 1 through verse 4.
For this reason we should give heed more
abundantly to the things we have heard, lest
in any way we should slip away.
And in the Amplified version you will find,
lest in any way we should drift from
it and slip away.
For if the word which was spoken by
angels was firm, and every transgression and disobedience
received just retribution, how shall we escape if
we have been negligent of so great salvation,
which having had its commencement in being spoken
of by the Lord, has been confirmed to
us by those who have heard, God bearing
besides witness with them to it, both by
signs and wonders and various acts of power
and distributions of the Holy Spirit according to
His will.
Let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank
Thee that by the grace of God and
the redemption of our Lord Jesus, we have
the boldness not only to enter into Thy
presence, but to remain there.
And we do praise and thank Thee that
this morning we do remain in Thy presence.
And we ask that the light of Thy
countenance will shine upon us, reveal to us
Thy heart, and draw us into Thyself.
We ask in the name of our Lord
Jesus.
Amen.
This letter to the Hebrews is a letter
of exhortation.
This is clearly stated at the end of
this letter.
The writer of the Hebrews says, I beseech
you, brethren, I entreat you, brethren, to bear
with the word of exhortation, to listen patiently,
and bear with the message of exhortation and
admonition and encouragement.
Because she said, I have written you briefly.
Now we may think that the letter to
the Hebrews is a long letter, but the
writer said she just have written very briefly.
It is not long at all if we
understand what he is talking about.
So this letter is primarily a letter of
exhortation.
Now dear brothers and sisters, what is exhortation?
To exhort.
Exhortation means to call to a person.
Because the word exhort, para means to the
side, kaleo, to call.
To call to the side.
And it simply means to entreat, to beseech,
to call, to admonish, to urge you to
pursue a certain course of conduct.
Therefore, exhortation in the scripture means to pay
attention to, to warn against, and to encourage
to.
So in this letter you will find there
are lots of encouragements and warnings.
If you read very carefully this letter, you
will find there are at least five distinctive
exhortations, complete with encouragements and warnings.
You will find the word let us a
number of times.
And whenever you find that word let us,
it means encouragement, to encourage us.
And then you also find a number of
times where the word lest, l-e-s
-t, being used.
And whenever that word is used you know
it is a warning.
So there is both the negative and the
positive sides.
Encouragement is positive, warning is negative.
And the reason why there are these encouragements
and warnings is because of the greatness of
the subject, of the theme, of the prospect
that you find in this letter.
And also of the easiness of losing it.
So brothers and sisters we were like, if
God wills, to spend some time on this
matter of exhortation.
To see the greatness of the message, the
encouragement given to us and the warning also
to us.
Now this morning we would like to just
focus ourselves on the first exhortation.
And the exhortation is found in the second
passage that we have just read.
Second chapter from the first verse through the
fourth verse.
One thing worth noticing and that is whenever
an exhortation is given in the letter to
the Hebrews, you find it either follows or
precedes a message, a truth, a teaching, a
reality that is of tremendous importance.
For instance in this first exhortation it stands
between chapter one and chapter two.
In chapter one we see the glory of
the son of God.
In chapter two we see the suffering of
the son of man.
In chapter one we see what Christ is
in eternity.
And in chapter two we find what he
is in time.
In chapter one we see especially the person
of our Lord Jesus.
In chapter two we see especially the work
of our Lord Jesus.
So in between these two chapters you find
the first exhortation.
And this is true throughout the whole book.
Here in this first exhortation the writer says
for this reason we should give more abundantly
to the things we have heard.
Now brothers and sisters, what are the things
that we have heard?
Certainly these things do not refer to those
things that the prophets in the past have
spoken.
Why?
Because you find in Hebrews chapter one God
having spoken in many parts and in many
ways formally to the father in the prophets.
Our God is a God who speaks.
Now thank God for that.
If he should keep silent nobody will know
him.
Nobody will know what his plan is.
Nobody will know what he is going to
do.
But thank God our God is one who
speaks.
And in the past he spoke to our
fathers through the prophets.
Many prophets.
But in many parts and in many ways.
In other words the prophets being men.
Even though they were holy men of God
and yet they were just human beings.
Therefore they were very limited in their capacity.
When God used them, when the spirit of
God moved them to speak they could only
speak in parts.
They can never speak in fullness.
They can only speak in many ways.
Sometimes in parables.
Sometimes in types.
Sometimes using history.
Using stories.
But they can only do it in many
ways.
That's the way God spoke to our fathers
in the prophets.
But this is not what we have heard.
As the writer of the Hebrews mentioned.
Now what is it that we have heard?
To which we need to put very close
attention to.
These are not the words spoken by the
prophets.
However important these words may be.
But these are the words spoken by our
Lord Jesus.
In other words, in the last days, at
the end of these days, God has spoken
to us in the person of his own
son.
So now you'll find in the past God
spoke through the prophets.
It was God speaking but he spoke through
the prophets.
But now God has spoken to us in
the person of his own son.
And when he speaks in his son, what
is spoken is full, rich, final and total.
And that's what we have heard.
What we have heard does not refer to
what we have heard through the angels.
You know in the second verse of the
second chapter it said, if the word which
was spoken by angels was firm.
Now we wonder when did the angels speak?
Of course it refers to the time when
Moses received the ten commandments, the law of
Mount Sinai.
And the Bible said when he received the
word on Mount Sinai, it was through the
ministration of the angels.
So these are the words spoken by the
angels.
In other words, God used the angels as
his agent.
And through the angels the word came to
Moses and through Moses to the children of
Israel.
But here what we have heard does not
refer to the words spoken by the angels,
however important these words might be.
These words that we have heard are spoken
by our Lord himself.
Not the words spoken by the angels, the
word of law.
But the words spoken by our Lord Jesus,
the word of truth and grace.
So how much more important that which we
have heard.
If we need to hear the prophets, if
we need to take heed to the word
spoken by the angels, how much more we
need to pay close attention to the word
spoken by the Son of God, by our
Lord Jesus.
Now brothers and sisters, what has he spoken?
That the prophets haven't spoken.
What have he spoken that the angels haven't
spoken?
What is it?
I think this is important for us to
know.
What has he spoken?
What have we heard today?
And any of you read the third verse.
He said, how shall we escape if we
have been negligent of so great salvation?
Now that's it.
Brothers and sisters, what we have heard from
the Lord himself is so great salvation.
Salvation is an all-inclusive word.
You know sometimes we limit salvation in our
understanding to mean just having our sins forgiven,
receiving eternal life, having the promise to go
to heaven.
Now thank God for these are big things
to us, tremendous things.
Just think of that.
Our sins forgiven.
We who are dead in sins and transgressions
and the wages of sin is death.
There is no hope in us.
And thank God that our sins are completely
forgiven.
Not only forgiven, but forgotten.
Now that's good news to us.
Think of having eternal life.
This life that we have is a mortal
life.
This life that we have is a corrupted
life.
This life that we have is a sinful
life, is a defeated life, is a life
that is destined for death.
But now we receive eternal life.
A life that never dies.
A life that not only continues on, but
continues on in glory.
Now that of course is wonderful to us.
Going to heaven.
Now who wants to go to hell?
And we who were destined for hell, thank
God through the salvation of our Lord Jesus
our direction is changed.
We are going to heaven.
Wonderful.
Dear brothers and sisters, this is the salvation
that we usually understand.
But is this what our Lord Jesus has
spoken to us?
So great salvation?
So far as we are concerned it is
great.
But so far as God is concerned, so
far as our Lord Jesus is concerned, that
is not great enough for him.
The salvation that we usually understand, shall we
say it is initial salvation.
Now you don't find the word in the
scripture.
We use it in order to differentiate it.
The salvation that we usually know is what
we would say common salvation.
It is to our common knowledge that this
is what salvation is.
But if you read the word of God,
if you listen to what our Lord Jesus
says, you will find salvation is much, much
greater than having our sins forgiven, receiving eternal
life with the promise of going to heaven.
Salvation not only has something to do with
the past, it has to do with the
present and of course it has to do
with the future.
For instance, in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 5
and verse 8, you will find, by grace
ye are saved.
In the Greek original it said, by grace
ye are having been saved.
By grace ye are having been saved.
That's past.
In other words, when you believe in the
Lord Jesus you are saved.
And this being saved is a settled matter.
It is a sin that is done once
and forever.
So that is salvation in the past tense.
Ye are having been saved.
Now isn't that wonderful?
Lots of people they believe in the Lord
Jesus and they live in fear and trembling,
wondering whether after they die and go to
the gate of heaven, whether they will meet
Moses or they will meet the Lord Jesus.
Whether they will be received into heaven or
they will be barred from heaven.
But thank God, if we believe in the
Lord Jesus, by grace ye are having been
saved.
Our salvation is sure and secure.
Nothing can take it away from us, not
even ourselves.
But this is salvation in the past tense.
And you will find in the scripture there
is salvation in the present tense.
For instance, in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse
18, for the word of the cross is
to those who perish in foolishness, but to
those being saved, even us, the power of
God.
And then of course you also find in
Romans chapter 5 verse 10, having been reconciled
ye shall be saved in the power of
his life.
And in amplified version you will find, ye
shall be saved.
It seems like past tense, but actually it
means daily deliverance from sin's dominion.
Daily deliverance from sin's dominion that is present.
In other words, in the present time you
can be saved by being daily delivered from
the power of sin.
You do not need to live under the
dominion of sin anymore.
You can overcome the law of sin and
of death, because now the law of the
spirit of life operates in you in Christ
Jesus.
That is salvation in the present tense.
And then you find salvation in the future
tense.
For instance, in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 14
it is said, those who shall inherit salvation.
Salvation is something that we shall inherit.
Now brothers and sisters, whenever you think of
inheritance, that is something in the future.
An heir is to inherit something in the
future.
Because when the heir inherits, he is no
longer an heir, he is an owner.
So inheritance has something to do in the
future.
And this is salvation.
If you look in 1 Peter, chapter 1,
1 Peter chapter 1, verse 3 to 5.
Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great
mercy has begotten us again to a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
among the dead.
Now here you find we are being begotten
again, born again to a living hope.
Now hope is something in the future.
And what is the hope?
To an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance.
You know everything in this world is corruptible.
Not only corruptible, but corrupted.
Everything in this world is defiled.
Not only defileable, but defiled.
Everything in this world is fading, passing away.
But thank God we have a hope.
We have a hope to an inheritance which
is incorruptible.
Not only not corrupted, but cannot be corrupted.
Undefiled and unfading inheritance.
Reserved in the heaven for you.
It is reserved for you.
Who are kept guarded by the power of
God through faith.
It is reserved for those who are kept
by the power of God through faith.
Now we cannot keep ourselves, but God can.
But you need to believe Him.
So they are kept guarded by the power
of God through faith for what?
For salvation, ready to be revealed in the
last time.
So there is a salvation that is reserved
for you, ready to be revealed in the
last time for those who are kept by
the power of God through faith to inherit
this salvation.
This is salvation in the future.
So you see salvation is a big thing.
It covers the past, the present and the
future.
And not only that, but you will find
in the scripture we are also told that
salvation reaches to different areas of our being.
We are a tripartite person.
A man made of three parts, spirit and
soul and body.
1 Thessalonians 5.
That your whole being, the spirit and the
soul and the body, when we believe in
the Lord Jesus we are born again.
He that is born of the spirit is
spirit.
That is the salvation of the spirit.
Your spirit who was dead in sins and
transgressions is now being quickened into new life,
become a new spirit.
And the spirit of God comes and dwells
in your spirit.
This is regeneration, this is born again, this
is salvation of the spirit.
Then you find the scripture mentions the salvation
of the soul.
You actually have this term in the Bible.
Salvation of the soul.
And the salvation of the soul is if
we lose our soul today for the gospel
sake, for Christ sake, we shall gain it
to eternity.
That is the salvation of the soul.
And then there is the salvation of the
body, the redemption of our body.
When the Lord Jesus shall come, this mortal
body shall be changed into immortality.
And this corruptible body shall be changed into
incorruptibility.
And we shall have a body of glory.
Today we have a body of humiliation.
This body really humiliates me.
But one day we shall have a body
of glory.
Now thank God when that day comes, that
is the complete salvation.
So salvation is so great salvation.
Brothers and sisters, we limit God's salvation to
a corner.
We think that is good enough for us.
But remember all the time, it is not
good enough for God.
It is not good enough for our Lord
Jesus.
What He has spoken to us, what He
has provided for us is a so great
salvation.
Now, it is impossible for me to try
to describe to you so great salvation within
an hour.
But probably we can do something this morning
by just restricting ourselves to so great salvation
as we find it within the first exhortation.
Now why is it we are exhorted to
pay special attention to what we have heard?
Because it is so great salvation.
Why is it we are being warned lest
we slip away or drift apart?
Because of so great salvation.
Now what is the so great salvation that
we find in these two chapters of the
book of Hebrews?
Verse 9, verse 5 of chapter 2.
For He has not subjected to angels the
habitable world to come of which we speak.
What is the habitable world which is to
come?
Maybe we need to go back a little.
You know, after God had created the heavens
and the earth, and after in six days
He has restored it to be habitable, then
on the sixth day He created man.
He created man in His own image, according
to His likeness.
Then He blessed the man whom He created.
And He blessed him and said, multiply, fill
the earth, have dominion over the fowls of
the air, the beasts of the field, and
the fish of the sea.
In other words, you will find, after God
created man in His own image, He gave
man the earth to rule.
He subjected the earth to the dominion of
the man whom He created.
Now, this is God's will.
Of course, for a reason.
But I will not tell you.
You have to find it yourself.
And God created man.
He put man in the habitable world and
gave the dominion to Him to rule the
earth for God.
What a privilege!
But unfortunately, man disobeyed God.
Man fell into temptation.
And by doing so, he not only lost
the image of God, but he also lost
the dominion over the earth.
And today, even a little sparrow, you cannot
command.
You know, often times you see a sparrow
there, you know, and you really like that
sparrow, and you say, come here!
That sparrow will listen to you.
And if you go forward, try to befriend
that sparrow, he will fly away.
Man has lost dominion.
Not to say a tiger or a lion,
but even a sparrow.
Man has lost dominion over the earth.
But does it mean because of this, God
has given up man?
God has given up His purpose concerning man?
Because 3000 years later, through King David, as
a prophet of God, he wrote Psalm 8.
And in the 8th Psalm, he said, what
is man that thou mindful of him?
What is the son of man that thou
visited him?
Thou hast made him a little lower than
angels.
You know, so far as the order of
creation is concerned, man is a lower order
than the angels.
Why?
Because the angels are spirits.
And we have spirit and soul and body,
and this body really encumbers us.
You know, spirit you can be everywhere, but
with this body, you can be only in
one place.
So we are created a little lower than
angels.
But, even though man is created a little
lower than angels, and yet God has crowned
him with glory and honor, and has given
him dominion over the things that he has
created.
Now, you will say, that is not true
anymore.
In Genesis chapter 1, when God first created
man, that was true.
But man has lost his inheritance, his place.
It is no longer true.
But, the sweet singer of Israel, David, in
the spirit of prophecy, he still continues to
say, what is man that thou are mindful
of him?
You haven't given him up.
What you have purpose concerning him is still
there.
You are still going to let him have
dominion over the earth.
But, it takes another thousand years.
When you come to Hebrews chapter 2, you
will find the beginning of the fulfillment of
God's purpose and his prophecy.
Here he said, what is man that thou
are mindful of him?
And the son of man that thou visiteth
him, thou hast made him somewhat inferior than
angels.
Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor,
and hast set him over the works of
thy hand.
Thou hast subjected all things to him.
In subjecting all things to him, he has
left nothing unsubjected to him.
But now, we see not yet all things
subjected to him.
Now, who is that him?
But, we see Jesus.
Dear brothers and sisters, you will find that
the man of God's heart, after God created
Adam, for four thousand years, God was still
looking for the man that he created.
And finally, he found that man in Jesus.
Here you will find our Lord Jesus, even
though he were the Son of God, the
eternal Son of God, yet he was made
a little inferior than angels.
The Word became flesh.
God incarnated.
And when God came to become a man,
he was made a little inferior than angels.
He took a place lower than the angels,
as a man.
But God has crowned him with glory and
honor, and has subjected all things to him,
given all things to him.
But, we haven't seen this complete yet.
We only see Jesus made a little lower
than angels, on account of the suffering of
death.
Now, why is it that he must be
made a little lower than angels?
Why is it he must be made a
man like you and me?
It is because he has to suffer the
suffering of death.
God cannot die.
God is immortal.
And in order for God to die, he
has to become a man.
And the reason why he incarnated is because
he wants to suffer.
He wants to die for us.
And because he has paid this debt for
everyone, God has now crowned him with glory
and honor.
He is risen.
He is ascended.
He is being anointed as Lord and Christ.
God has given all things to him, and
all things is going to be subjected to
him.
This is the man.
But, is it just for Jesus himself?
If it is just for himself, he did
not need to become a man.
Because as God, the Son of God, he
was crowned with glory and honor.
And all things were subject to him.
That was his right, that belonged to him.
But God gave this to man, and man
lost it.
So here you'll find the Lord Jesus came
to regain it, taking it out of the
hand of the enemy, and regain it for
man, for God.
But he didn't do it just for himself.
He did it for a new mankind.
New mankind.
Those whom he has and is going to
redeem.
So here it is said, for he has
not subjected to angels the habitable world which
is to come, of which we speak.
Now the habitable world to come, points to
the millennium that is coming.
This is this age.
And according to Jewish usage, when they say
the habitable world to come, it means when
the Messiah shall come, and he shall establish
his kingdom.
That is the habitable world to come.
Dear brothers and sisters, what is so great
salvation?
So great salvation is this.
That Christ has come.
He has taken this earth out of the
hand of the usurper, Satan, and brought it
back to himself, and to those whom he
has redeemed.
That they may inherit that incorruptible, undefiled, and
unfading inheritance.
And to use one word to describe it.
And that's the reason why you'll find in
chapter two, it said in verse ten, for
it became him, for whom are all things,
and by whom are all things, that is
our Lord Jesus, in bringing many sons to
the Lord, to make perfect the leader of
their salvation through suffering.
Now here you'll find the word salvation.
Their salvation.
Now what is that salvation means?
That salvation means glory.
Brothers and sisters, you'll find it is not
just a matter of having our sins forgiven.
Of course, having sins upon us, it is
shameful, condemned, humiliating, despicable.
And having our sins forgiven, now that is
a very joyous experience, that's true.
But dear brothers and sisters, what God has
in mind for us is far greater than
just having our sins forgiven.
What God has in mind is to lead
us into glory.
Christ is now in glory.
And one day he is going to lead
many sons to share his glory.
To share his reign.
To share his throne.
To rule upon this earth, over all things,
as heirs and co-heirs with Christ.
Brothers and sisters, isn't that great?
But remember, how is he to bring many
sons?
He has already gone to glory.
Why?
He goes through the path of suffering.
To make perfect the leader of their salvation
through suffering.
It is through his suffering that he is
perfected.
He is perfect, and yet he needs to
be perfected.
Because in Hebrews chapter 5 you'll find being
son, he has to learn obedience through the
things by which he suffered, that he may
be our eternal salvation.
So here you'll find our Lord Jesus has
not only provided for us our salvation, but
he has also opened the way to this
salvation.
And the way is through suffering.
You will find these words suggest, for both
he that sanctifies and those sanctified are all
one.
For which cause he is not ashamed to
call them brethren.
He that sanctifies is the Lord Jesus, those
sanctified are we who are sanctified, are of
one.
In other words, we are united with him.
First he came to be united with us.
We were of flesh and blood.
So he partook of flesh and blood to
be united with us, in order that he
might die for us.
And now you'll find that he made us
united with him.
He that sanctifies and those that are sanctified
are all of one.
And he called us brethren.
Isn't that wonderful?
He calls us brothers.
Male brothers or female brothers.
We are all brothers to him.
Why?
Because we share his life.
We are his brethren.
And in verse 12 he said, I will
declare thy name to my brethren in the
midst of the assembly, the church, I will
praise in thy praises.
We are his assembly, his church.
Through his death and resurrection, we are united
with Christ.
So he said, go and tell my brethren.
I go to my father, your father, my
Lord and your Lord, my God and your
God.
We become his blood brothers.
And we become his assembly.
That is his church.
He will sing praises in the assembly.
And we become his children that God has
given to him.
Now think of that.
By believing in the Lord Jesus, we are
his children.
But brothers and sisters, not just babes, we
begin as babes, but he is to lead
many sons into glory.
Think of that.
When you believe in the Lord Jesus, you
become a child of God, a babe in
Christ.
But do not remain as a babe.
Because if you remain as a babe, that
God's purpose for you cannot be realized.
God wants you to rule and to reign
with Christ in glory.
God wants to put all things under your
feet, as he has given all things under
the feet of Christ.
Now can you do that?
If you are just a babe, you cannot
manage.
You need to grow up into sonship.
God wants sons, grown up sons and daughters.
That's what God wants.
We need to grow up.
And as we grow up, now what is
meant by being, growing up?
It means that the measure of Christ in
us has to be increased.
Christ has to increase in us and we
be decreased.
Then we are growing.
We grow into sonship.
And one day, at the manifestation of the
sons of God, you find the whole earth
will be transformed.
The earth today is in groaning because they
are subject to corruption and vanity.
The whole world is vanity, of vanity, no
purpose.
The whole earth is corrupted.
Everything is corrupted.
You look at the trees.
Now we find the trees having all these
leaves in springtime is wonderful, but you know,
it doesn't last long.
Not to be pessimistic, but you find that
the fall comes and the winter comes and
it is bad, corrupted.
Everything is corrupted.
Everything is vain, no purpose.
Not only no purpose to human beings, no
purpose to anything in the world, there is
no purpose.
The whole creation is subject to vanity and
corruption.
Now who subjects these into vanity, corruption?
Man.
But one day when the sons of God
shall be manifested, when the son of God
shall lead many sons into glory, when the
only begotten shall be the firstborn among his
many brethren, then you will find the whole
world will be restored, wonderful.
And this is so great salvation.
Nothing less than this.
Dear brothers and sisters, are you excited about
it, thrilled about it?
Think of the so great salvation that Christ
has spoken to us, He has provided to
us, He has called us into, and because
of the greatness of the theme, the greatness
of the subject.
Here you'll find we are encouraged, exhorted to
give heed more abundantly to the things we
have heard.
We need to pay much close attention to
what we have heard.
You know many people hear, but they do
not hear, because their heart is not there.
You remember the parable of the sower?
When the word is being scattered, some seed
falls into the pathway, being trodden hard by
feet.
In other words, the traffic of the world
is so heavy, that the heart is so
hardened by the traffic of the world, by
the things of the world, that the seed
just cannot enter into his heart.
He may hear, but he does not hear.
And the birds, satan will come and take
the seed away, so you haven't heard.
Or your heart, maybe like a stony ground,
there is a stone underneath, a very thin
layer of earth, so the seed falls in,
well it just, it gets some earth, so
it begins to come forth, but there is
no root.
And when there is tribulation, it is gone.
Or it may be a ground with thorns,
so you find the seed goes in, it
begins to come up in stock, but it
can bear no fruit, because the weeds, the
thorns, the thistles, they take away all the
nutrition.
We know thorns are aborted fruits.
That's thorns.
It does not come to fruition, but only
that ground, that heart, that has been killed,
has been turned over, has been softened, has
been prepared, then the word will fall into
that heart, and it will patiently bear fruit
a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold for the glory
of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, pay close attention to
what you hear.
Be careful lest your heart is nodding it,
therefore you hear as if you haven't heard.
And this word more abundantly, you'll find it
is used a second time in chapter six,
verse seventeen.
In chapter six, verse seventeen, God says, Wherein
God, willing to show more abundantly to the
heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his
purpose, intervened by oath.
Here you'll find more abundantly, on God's side.
He wants to show us the immutability, the
unchangeableness of his purpose.
So he gives us more abundantly his truths.
He even make oath.
Whatever God says is true.
He does not need to take oath.
But he take oath.
In order to encourage us more abundantly.
Dear brothers and sisters, if to such more
abundant grace, surely we need to pay more
abundant attention.
Let us hear.
And then the warning comes.
Lest in any way we should slip away.
Now this word, slip away, in the original,
has been explained in three different ways.
You know, in the original Greek it is
very rich.
But when you translate into English, you can
only put one shade of the meaning in
it.
Some say this word means running out.
Just like a leaking vessel.
You know, suppose you have a vessel that
have holes in it.
And you try to draw water with it.
Now you go to the river, and you
draw water, and you try to bring it
home, but when you get home, it's all
gone.
Why?
Because they all have leaked away.
Leaked out.
You know, be careful what you have heard.
Lest they be leaked out and running out.
Isn't that true?
Often times, you come to a meeting, you
hear the word of God said, but after
you step out of the door, if anybody
asks you, what have you heard?
Oh, you cannot even remember a word.
It's all leaked out.
Isn't that strange that we can remember lots
of things, but when it comes to the
things of God, you just cannot remember.
They have leaked.
Be careful.
Lest all that you have heard have run
out from a leaking vessel.
Oh, that we be not leaking vessels.
That we have heard a lot, but we
retain very little.
It's all leaked.
It doesn't produce what it should.
Oh, how we need to be careful before
God.
And another way to put it is, slip
away.
Slip away.
Now, we often have that state, well, it
just slip off our mind.
I just don't remember.
It just slip.
Now, why do you slip?
Why it slips your mind?
Because, in the first place, your heart is
not in it.
If your heart is really in it, it
cannot slip.
It won't slip away.
Now, why do you remember lots of things?
Because your heart is in it.
Suppose somebody did something wrong to you, you
can never forget.
Why?
Because it touched your heart.
You remember it.
But when somebody do something good to you,
you can easily forget.
You take it for granted.
Be careful, lest in any way, it may
slip away from you.
Because it can be slipped away, therefore, hold
it tight.
Now, how do we hold it tight?
Brothers and sisters, you know, when we hear
the word of God, and we just go
away, it is almost like what you find
in the book of James.
People look at the mirror, and then he
turns around and forget how he looks.
Many people are like that.
We hear the word, we go home, it
all slip away.
How can you hold it and fix it?
Mingle it with faith, pray through it, that
will hold it and fix it.
So it won't just be slip away.
That's the reason why it is always good
at the message that we pray, to fix
it, to hold it.
Not only just a few prayers here, but
even after you go home, think about it,
ponder over it, pray over it, let it
be fixed in your heart, then it will
never slip away.
And there is another way of putting it,
is drift apart.
It is like a ship that is in
the river, in the water, and then you'll
find there may be a storm, and the
ship is sailing, and the ship is going
to a haven.
But if you do not put effort to
sail the ship, and let the ship just
drift, and then you'll find the storm, the
wind, will blow the ship away from the
haven that you want to arrive.
You will be just drifting away.
And dear brothers and sisters, how true it
is.
Often times we cannot reach, attain to what
God has provided for us.
It is because we make no effort at
all.
We just let our life drift.
And you know, if you allow your life
to drift, the current will take you away
from God, not unto God.
A living fish has to swim against the
current.
When it flows with the current, you know
it's a dead fish.
Dear brothers and sisters, do not drift.
Because if you drift, you miss the haven.
And you know, the terrible thing with drifting
is, it doesn't occur suddenly.
Drifting is something that goes on your life,
day by day, hour by hour, unknowingly, you
know.
Sometimes, you can picture as if a man,
you know, in a canoe, and he is
there sailing in a canoe, and in the
lake there.
And that lake really joined to Niagara Falls.
And there he was sailing there, and he
find the water so smooth, the sun is
so good, so he began to just drop
his oar, and just lie back and let
the canoe drift.
And he thinks everything is fine, until suddenly
he comes to the edge of the fall.
It's too late.
That's drifting.
Dear brothers and sisters, our Christian life cannot
afford to be drifted.
What God has given to us, so great
salvation, is so precious, it cannot afford to
be slipped away.
You cannot let it run out.
Lay hold of it.
Just like the Bible says, lay hold on
eternal life, lay hold on it.
And you know why do you slip?
Why do you drift?
It is because you are being negligent, neglect.
Now that's the reason, neglect.
You do not need to commit something terrible.
All you need to do is to neglect
it.
That's all you need to do.
Just by neglecting it, you lose it.
You know the word neglect, in the New
Testament, we find it is used not only
here.
How shall we escape if we neglect so
great salvation?
But it is used also in three other
places.
One is in Hebrews chapter 8 verse 9.
And there you'll find the Lord Jesus said,
because they did not continue in my covenant,
I did not regard them, said the Lord.
The word did not regard.
This regard, in the original, is the same
word as the word neglect.
God said, I will neglect my covenant.
Why?
Because they have first violated my covenant.
A covenant is between two parties.
And when one party has violated the terms
of the covenant, the other party has every
right just to neglect it, to declare it
as null and void.
And that's what God did.
He declared the old covenant as null and
void.
He neglected it.
So, by neglect, it doesn't mean just being
careless.
It means a deliberate putting aside of what
you should pay attention to, or what you
should perform.
So, brothers and sisters, do not think that
neglect is just carelessness.
Now, neglect sometimes is being careless.
That's true.
But sometimes neglect is more than being careless.
It is deliberate.
How sinful it is, if we deliberately neglect
so great salvation.
Spoken to us by the Son of God.
Endorsed by the Heavenly Father.
Established by the Holy Spirit.
You know how sinful this must be.
How can we deliberately disregard, neglect so great
salvation.
And then, another place, in 1 Timothy 4,
verse 14, Paul said, Do not be negligent
of the gift which has been given to
you through prophecy with the laying hand of
the elders.
And there the word, being negligent, has the
sense of continuity.
In other words, not just neglect once, but
if you neglect it from time to time,
all the time, until it becomes a habit.
You know, negligence can become a habit.
It can be habitual.
Because if you neglect it, neglect it, neglect
it, the thing is gone.
It's gone.
The gift that God has given to you,
you neglect it the first time.
When the Holy Spirit moves you to exercise
your gift, you neglect it.
The second time you neglect it, and you
find that if you continue to neglect it,
it is as if you don't have it.
And then, another time, in Matthew chapter 22,
verse 5, in that parable, yeah,
that's right.
Chapter 225, and you'll find verse 5 says,
But they make light of it.
You know, a feast, a marriage feast was
provided, and the persons were invited, but when
they were asked to come, they made light
of it.
That's neglect.
They consider other things as more important.
They consider their oxen, which they bought, are
more important.
They consider the field that they have bought,
more important.
They consider the wife and marriage, more important.
Then, the son, the king, dear brothers and
sisters, if we make light of what Christ
has spoken to us, so great salvation, we
neglect it.
Don't make light of it.
Give it your first priority.
I remember Andrew Murray says, The feebleness and
the slickliness of the Christian life today is
because we do not pay intense attention, close
attention, priority to God and to His word.
That's how it is.
So, dear brothers and sisters, here you'll find
the first exhortation.
The tremendous greatness of the theme, so great
salvation.
We are encouraged to pay close attention, we
are warned not to neglect it, how shall
we escape?
If you neglect it, you not only miss
it, that is, you will not be able
to enter into glory and reign with Christ
for a thousand years during the millennium.
Oh, what you have missed!
But, worse than that, it says, how shall
you escape?
Now, escape what?
To lose something is one thing, is bad
enough.
But not to escape something terrible is another
thing.
Now, what is that which you shall not
escape?
Read it again.
Verse 2.
For if the word which was spoken by
angels was firm, and every transgression and disobedience
received just retribution.
Now, think of that.
The words spoken by the angels are the
words of the law.
If anyone should violate the word of the
law, he will receive just retribution.
Go back to the Old Testament and read
those people who disobeyed, transgressed the law of
God and what happened to them.
Just retribution.
They are paid back what they deserve.
How shall we escape if we have been
negligent of so great salvation?
Brothers and sisters, the principle is, the greater
the privilege, the greater the responsibility, and the
greater the retribution.
Think of that.
I am not going to enter into retribution,
but just be warned of it.
May the Lord have mercy upon us.
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, O our hearts do cry
out to Thee.
What grace, what mercy, what salvation Thou hast
spoken and provided for us.
O that we may hear, we may see,
we may take to heart, that we may
pay close attention to and give our life
to it, that we may not lose it,
let it slip, run away or drift past.
Lord, we pray that we may not be
negligent people, but we may be a people
who are diligent towards Thyself.
We ask in the name of our Lord
Jesus.
Amen.